A series of wildly unexpected and downright funny twists mark the Gainesville Theatre Alliance's SouthernStage production of Alfred Hitchock's "The 39 Steps," opening April 5 at the Buford Community Center.

The Atlanta Film Festival burst into action last weekend, with the much heralded Matthew McConaughey starrer "Mud," a funny, touching ensemble comedy called "Claire's Cambodia," and a sneak preview of the Sundance Channel's first original, scripted series, "Rectify," which was created by Georgia's own Ray McKinnon and films in Griffin.

Brenau University will offer a free presentation by John Muir biographer James Hunt as part of the ongoing "Sense and Sustainability" lecture series at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, in Thurmond McRae Auditorium.

Artists Shirley Hill, Penny Nossett and Kathy Whitehead bill themselves as the "Color Pencil Girls" and visitors to Helen Arts & Heritage Center's upcoming show, "Mountain Matters," will have a chance to see why. The three artists, along with Jared Kaup of lifefire pottery in Toccoa, will display their work as featured artists for the "Mountain Matters" show.

The 17th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival has scheduled its Master Classes for Sunday, April 21, at the Historic Vickery House, home of the Georgia Appalachian Studies Center of the University of North Georgia.

The geocaching team of EBBJr, which consists of Ed and Kimberly Brown, and their son, Caden, 5, will hold a meet and greet/geocaching class beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center meeting room at Tallulah Gorge State Park.